Brasilia, Brazil and Oakland, U.S. – The Association of Brazil’s Indigenous Peoples (APIB) and Amazon Watch issued a letter to mining giant Anglo American calling on it to make a public commitment not to conduct mining activities on Indigenous lands in Brazil, regardless of changes in Brazilian legislation. The open letter comes after a recent report from the InfoAmazônia news agency revealed that Brazil’s National Mining Agency (ANM) granted 27 permits for Anglo American to research copper prospecting in Indigenous lands in the states of Mato Grosso and Pará. Sawré Muybu Indigenous land in Pará state alone had 13 authorized applications.
APIB and Amazon Watch’s demand to Anglo American comes after the company publicly stated that it had given up all requests for mineral extraction in areas located on Indigenous lands in Brazil and that it would be in contact with ANM to update their requirements. Anglo American’s commitment comes after the report Complicity in Destruction III was released in October by both organizations. The report highlighted that hundreds of permits for conducting mining prospecting by Anglo American overlapped with Indigenous lands and recent requests could affect the Munduruku territory.
This open letter is in support of Munduruku demands. From December 15th through 18th, the annual Munduruku people’s Resistance Assembly was held to discuss urgent threats to their territory and resistance strategies. Despite the ongoing pandemic, the Munduruku organized the meeting due to the increasing death threats against their lives and territories. Their declaration calls out Anglo American and BlackRock as sponsors of the destruction of their territory:
“Who will defend us if not ourselves? Our territory is suffering the consequences of the invasion of loggers and miners, our people are in poor health, and our culture and social organization are in danger.”
More than 200 participants from 47 Munduruku villages were present and the assembly resulted in a forceful declaration that demands recognition of the Munduruku’s rights to life and territory.
Read More:
- Find the letter from the resistance assembly at the Waro Apoppu village here.
- In October, the report Complicity in Destruction III detailed how financial institutions like BlackRock play a key role in enabling the destructive actions of companies, such as Anglo American, that are linked to violations of Indigenous rights and conflicts in Indigenous territories in the Brazilian Amazon.
